DOJ Investigating Racist Admission Standards at Duke

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division is investigating Duke University’s law school for blatantly racist admissions standards.

Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, posted on X August 6, “At Duke Law, REJECTED white & Asian applicants had higher LSATs than admitted black applicants. With similar credentials: black applicants have a 3.5x higher chance of admission than Asians. This isn’t a coincidence—Duke Law discriminates & the @CivilRights Division will end it!” The problem is, this is not specific to Duke; it is a problem at most colleges and universities, particularly at Ivy League institutions.

The DOJ, in a press release, accused Duke Law of discriminatory conduct violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for the school years of 2023 through 2025. Not only does Duke Law violate the law with discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, but it flies in the face of the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision to the same effect and specifically about higher education in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA).

I know young people who earned a 35 out of 36 on their ACT and yet couldn’t get into any of the universities they most wanted. Then there are total buffoons like Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who graduated from top universities yet seem incapable of a coherent thought. This is a result of woke racial and sexual bias in admissions instead of the decisions being meritocratic.

Ironically, back when segregation was still in force in many states, and black schools had fewer resources than white schools, many black students equaled or even surpassed white peers in test scores. But since everything became about woke propaganda instead of about high standards, now the only way to reach what universities consider their quotas is to rig admissions.

Dhillon said, “Duke Law School doesn’t get a free pass to discriminate against white and Asian students simply because it thinks it has good intentions. Using ‘diversity’ essay questions to identify preferred races for admission is still illegal discrimination based on race, and this Department is committed to eliminating it everywhere we find it, including in our nation’s law schools.”

The Department’s investigation found that post-SFFA, Duke Law emphasized racial diversity in admissions and engaged in a deliberate effort to preserve race-based outcomes for its incoming classes. Duke Law revised its Mission Statement to express its goal to “help build and sustain a dynamic legal profession that embodies a commitment” to a number of stated values, such as equal justice, public service, and a “diversity of perspective and experience.” Duke Law’s application included short answer essay questions, which allowed candidates to discuss how they would further Duke Law’s mission. Admissions reviewers were then instructed to “tag” responses to these short answer questions. To capture answers related to “diversity of perspective and experience” reviewers used the “Diversity/Services” tag. Reviewers were also instructed to use tags to capture specific applicant characteristics that are commonly correlated with race, such as being a Pell grant recipient.

This is how Duke tried to rig admissions standards without its federal government funders noticing.

Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to ensure America's young people get the education they deserve.

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